Cicadas' Answer
by megarockman78
Summary: All is not as it seems. And it could end up destroying them from within. Rated for violence.
1. Escape

_Hey, guys. Here's something new I'm working on. __I'd like to know what you think._

_And before you ask, yes, I am working on 12 Little HiME. I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the next chapter._

_7/15/09_

_

* * *

_

_I busted out the hallway and into the staircase. My mind just barely registered Kikukawa-san's slaughtered body as I raced around it. I just had to get away from her. Them. It. I don't know who they are, but I know that couldn't have been Sis._

"_Takumi!!"_

_But damn it if that wasn't her voice!_

_I reached the fire exit and finally stopped running, leaning on the door handle to catch my breath. I opened the door a bit, letting the pattering of rain on concrete into the hallway. I stuck a hand out, tried to let the rain wash the blood off my hands, wishing that it could wash the images I had just seen out of my head._

_I heard a somewhat faint but distinct sound of a metal door clanging against the wall. "TAKUMI! Come back here!" Akira-kun couldn't stop her, then, I thought sadly._

"_Oh, no, you don't, Mai!" That was Shiho-chan! She was still alive! A ping of a metal bat against the stair railing soon followed. I turned my head around to the stairs as I heard another swing of the bat, this one striking the cinderblock wall._

"_Bitch!" "Sis" shouted. "Fine! You first!" I heard the bat hit flesh, but it was the sound of a hand catching the bat. Shiho let out a scream before I saw her being tossed down the stairs and onto the landing in my line of sight. She was clearly in pain. A stream of blood was coursing its way down the right side of her cheek. And this was in addition to all the bruises, cuts, and wounds all over her body she took earlier. "Shiho-chan!" I shouted at her._

_She coughed up a bit of blood as she put all her effort into looking at me. "What are you doing, idiot?! Run!"_

"_YOU…"_

" _But…"_

"_LITTLE…" The menacing sound of a metal bat against the railing echoed._

"_I'm dead, not you! Go! While she's distracted by me!"_

"_SACK…"_

"_NOW!" Still I hesitated. _

"_OF…"_

"_TokihaaaAAAAHHH!!!!" Shiho's command for me to run became a shriek of pure terror as her eyes looked up at her killer. I bolted out the fire escape and into the rain. I couldn't stick around to hear Shiho get bludgeoned. I had seen too much already._

_It must have been four or five minutes of straight running before I stopped to catch my breath again, seeing no more than a few feet in front of me to navigate and otherwise staring at my muddied shoes. At least my heart was holding up fine. I looked around and found myself in the woods. I had no idea which one, though; I hadn't really been paying attention to where I was going._

_I stopped to collect my thoughts. Who the hell was she? I couldn't shake the image of Mikoto's body run headfirst into the television, of "Sis" plunging that knife over and over again into Fujino-san's throat, of her twisted and inhuman smile as she approached me with that bloody knife before Akira-kun pulled me out of the way just as she lunged for me. What had she done to Sis?_

_For that matter, what had they done to Harada-san? The last thing I remembered was her rushing towards me with a bent metal pipe in her hand, held high above her head and screaming bloodlust emanating from her lips. It was her, and simultaneously it wasn't. The face, the (broken) glasses – unless someone made an exact clone of herand found a spare uniform or something, that was Harada-san. But at the same time, there's no way she would go berserk and murderous like that; it's not in her nature. I guess the permanently shocked looks on Nao-san's and Alyssa-chan's faces would attest to their surprise as well._

_I nearly screamed in terror as the bushes behind me rustled before someone emerged from the shadows. I only exhaled when I saw it was Akane's boyfriend. "Oh, God, you scared me, Kurauchi-san."_

"_Where'd everyone go?" he asked. I saw the serious and alert look on his face. He knew as well what was going on, or at least as much as I knew._

"_I don't know," I replied. I looked around briefly. "Where's Higurashi-san?"_

"_She…didn't make it." He didn't look away from me when he said that. A few raindrops plunked his cheeks, becoming his surrogate tears._

"_I'm sorry."_

_For a moment neither of us said anything. The rain was the only thing making a sound until we heard someone approaching nearby. We turned to the source to see Takeda hurrying up the path that until that point I hadn't seen. I must have been just a couple feet from it when I stopped running. "Takeda-sempai!" I called when he got closer._

_He looked up and saw the two of us. "We gotta head to the shrine. It's the safest place."_

"_Why there?" he asked._

"_It's removed from the dorms. We can plan our next move there. I already told Senou-san and Tate-san to head there." Takeda continued running, moving past me as he finished talking._

_That was as good a plan as any, except I hadn't recovered fully from all the running I did a few minutes ago. Kazuya must have seen that: "Takeda-san, go on ahead. I'll take care of Tokiha-kun."_

"_All right." Takeda waved as he continued up the slope and into the dark._

_I spent maybe another minute catching my breath. "All right, let's go."_

"_OK."_

_I turned around and took maybe two steps uphill before I felt a sharp pain in my back and something fleshy covered my mouth. _

_No…_

_All my strength melted away as I crumbled to the ground face first. Even if I had the energy to scream, the hand covering my mouth would have smothered it._

_Not him too…_

_My head had just fallen to the ground when I felt two more sharp pains dig into my back. Breathing became very difficult, and I struggled for my next few breaths. The pain was unbearable, even more when I coughed up the blood in my lungs._

_I pushed whatever energy I could into looking up from my position to see Kurauchi-san stand over me, a bloodied knife in his hand. How can his face show no change in emotion? It's inhuman. My vision soon began to fade; I could just make out his figure move uphill, towards the shrine where everyone else was trying to get to._

_My last thoughts before I lost consciousness for the final time: _

_Please…_

_Someone save them…_

_Someone save us…_


	2. Red Sky

_Welcome to Chapter 1. Hope you find this to be worth the wait._

_And more waiting is on the dock, unfortunately: I have an exam on Tuesday, and I have to pack everything by Thursday for a two-day drive to Iowa for grad school (which starts the following Monday). The final chapter of 12LH is almost done (I swear), but there's still a couple of scenes left to craft. I might be able to get it in before I go, but more than likely it'll have to wait until after classes begin and I get settled._

_Just a heads-up._

_8/14/09_

* * *

"Shi-Shizuru! What are you doing here?!" Natsuki pointed an accusing finger at the former student council president who was seated in the sofa of the dorm room pouring a cup of tea. That sight definitely shook her out of her residual-sleep-induced trance.

"Ara, I had thought that Natsuki would have been glad to see me," Shizuru replied calmly, taking a sip. "Natsuki actually looks cute in that outfit," she added.

The shock of seeing Shizuru in the living room of Mai's dorm room having awakened her, she looked down to see that she was wearing a bra, a pair of boy shorts, and nothing else. "Eeep!" She dove back into Mikoto's room before the most recent Fuuka Academy valedictorian could tease her any further.

"Morning, Natsuki," a smiling Mai called into the room Natsuki was hiding in as she walked by with two bags of groceries in her hands. She had just walked in from shopping and had caught the exchange from the dorm hallway.

"Uh, yeah, morning, Mai."

"Glad we got new dorm rooms now, don't you?"

"Where are my clothes, Mai?"

"Mikoto isn't back yet?"

"YOU SENT MIKOTO TO DO LAUNDRY?!"

"Well, you were asleep, I needed to go out to buy food for the picnic, and I can't ask our guest to do our chores, now, can I?"

"But Mikoto?!"

"Relax, Natsuki. She's gotten better at separating the whites from the colors."

"And I had instructed Mikoto-chan to put only 3/4 of a cup of detergent into the washing machine for each load," Shizuru added.

"You did draw the line on the cup with a marker, right?" Mai asked.

"Yes, I did, Mai-san."

"OK, good." Mai reached the kitchen area and looked down on the counter at the single plate of food. "_Kaichou-san_, I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't need to wash the other dishes for us."

"I believe it is only proper I do so after you offered breakfast for me and I selfishly accepted."

The door to Mikoto's room opened. "There's food?" Natsuki asked, sticking her head out the door.

"There's a plate here for you if you want it," Mai answered. That was enough for Natsuki, her underdressed state be damned. The fact that breakfast was on the table overrode the fact that her clothes weren't yet back from the basement. She hurried out of the room and across the common area to the kitchen, where she sat on a stool and began to dig in. Shizuru had apparently decided that that was enough teasing, for she didn't look up from her tea.

Natsuki mostly kept quiet while she ate, content with vaguely following the conversation Mai and Shizuru were having and eating her not-as-warm-but-still-all-right breakfast. Judging from the copious amounts of sunlight that poured through the windows and the fact that Mai had placed the contents of her grocery bags onto the table, Natsuki assumed that the picnic was still on despite the chance of rain the news gave last night.

Periodic get-togethers like these were always Mai's idea, though Midori sometimes had a hand in them. Natsuki had to admit, it was nice being able to relax among friends. She had been alone for so long, caught up with First District and Searrs and the Carnival – and Shizuru – she had never really been given the chance to just relax for any extended amount of time. Sure, the shady organizations involved in that mess were still scattered about, but for the first time in years, Natsuki could relax like a teenager should. Blame Mai for showing her the normal side of life and making her no longer content with the hard-boiled underworld life she grew up with. It took her some time to get herself stop looking over her should every five minutes, but she gradually adjusted to normal life. Well, at least as normal as her past would allow: she had crashed at Mai's place the night before because her apartment's alarm had been tripped by a burglar. There was still much she didn't know about her relationship with Searrs and First District, no telling whether the end of the Carnival would send them after her even in their fractured state. Mai didn't really think twice about it, though: Natsuki slept over in her room maybe twice a week on average, and she hadn't exactly told her host about her concerns. There wasn't much point in getting anyone else worried.

"_Onee-chan!_" Everyone turned their attention to the door where Takumi had just announced his and Akira's presence. "Oh, hi, everyone."

"Hey, Takumi!" Mai answered. "Morning, Akira-kun."

"Good morning," Shizuru greeted.

"'Sup?" Natsuki said with a slight nod.

"Good morning, everyone," Akira replied.

"Do you need any help?" Takumi asked as the two walked in and Akira had a seat.

"Actually, I could. Could you start baking the pie? The stuff's next to the sink."

"Where's Mikoto?" Akira asked.

"Laundry," Natsuki replied.

"Including yours, I presume?"

"Yeah."

"Actually, could you do me a favor, Akira-kun?" Mai asked as she began chopping tomatoes.

"You want me to check on Mikoto?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, it's not like you were going to ask her to help with making food after last time," Natsuki said with a smirk.

"Hey! I'll bet there's a time you thought baking soda was flour!" Akira responded indignantly with a pointed finger.

"Actually, I always eat out since I don't cook, so…"

A moment of silence passed. "Natsuki?" Shizuru said finally. "I think admitting you haven't even tried to cook at all is even more pitiful."

Natsuki dropped her fork. "I said I don't, not can't!"

"It's OK, Natsuki," Mai said teasingly. "With all the time you've spent learning how to kick the ass of someone twice your size, it's OK to admit you haven't had time to learn something as basic as cooking."

That did it. Natsuki got off her stool and stomped over to the oven where an apron was conveniently hanging, muttering "I'll show you" and verbally barking out her train of thought on how she was going to make cookies.

When Akira returned from the laundry room about 45 minutes later (Mikoto having taken the first basket up earlier), she was treated with the sight of Mai and Mikoto trying to hold back a furious Natsuki from beating up the oven with a whisk while Takumi was finishing dumping a batch of blackened lumps off of a tray into the garbage. Off to the side Shizuru was standing on a chair and removing the battery from a smoke detector lest it be set off and pester the entire dormitory.

"_Serves her right_," Akira thought smugly.

* * *

"Mai! I'm thirsty!"

"Well, you'll have to wait until Yuichi gets here with the drinks," Mai replied. Her words, though, didn't conceal her increasing impatience at why her new boyfriend was so late.

"Can you pass me the sandwiches, Mai?" Chie asked, a little carefully after hearing Mai's rising tone of voice.

Mai calmed down and obliged, passing the basket over Takumi's food. "It's too bad Aoi couldn't come."

"Yeah, I know. Second weekend in a row that she's been bogged by homework. It's not really like her to be this behind on work." Chie took a bite of a sandwich. "Wow, this is good, Mai."

"That's not my work, actually," Mai said with a smile.

"Whose?" Mai pointed to Natsuki. "No way," Chie said in disbelief.

"Yes way."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsuki questioned angrily.

"We thought maybe she should start with something simpler after her first set of baked goods ended up more than baked," Mai continued with a smirk.

Natsuki just glared at Mai while Shizuru chuckled. "Don't mind them, Natsuki. The sandwiches are very good."

"Hey, Mai, where's Nao?" Mikoto asked, looking up from her plate that held a considerable amount of food.

Mai paused her arms after they were halfway up placing a drumstick to her mouth. "I don't know, Mikoto. I left a message on her cell phone, but she hasn't returned the call."

"Far as I know, she only goes out on those dates at night," Chie said.

"And it's not like her to skip out on food," Natsuki added. "I mean, her skipping out on actually making this, no surprise there. But to not show up for the food – that's not like her."

"Maybe she got ill?" Mai ventured.

"She looked fine to me yesterday in math class," Akira said. "Even made a lewd calculus joke."

Chie's eyes crossed. "How does one make a lewd calculus joke?"

"I didn't paying attention to the whole thing, but it involved derivatives or something."

"Oooooo-kay…." Natsuki mentally filed that away under "whatever" just as she turned to Shizuru, who seemed distracted. "Hey, Shizuru?" She waved a hand in her face. "You there?"

Shizuru snapped back to reality with a start. "Hm? Oh, yes, Natsuki?"

"Nothing, you just seemed out of it."

"I suppose I was." Shizuru smiled before going back to her sandwich.

Natsuki tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, um, nothing, Natsuki. Nothing is wrong," she said a little quickly. It was clear to Natsuki that Shizuru didn't want to talk about it, so she let it drop. Natsuki kept looking back at Shizuru throughout the rest of the picnic, though. She had come to be able to read the subtleties of Shizuru's facial expressions (hard not to when you've been around her as long as she had), and what she had seen hinted at worry and, if she wasn't mistaken, fear. No one else seemed to have noticed (perhaps not that surprising: Shizuru was, after all, a master at putting on a face), but it wouldn't leave Natsuki's mind. She'd have to find out later what was going on.

Mai, meanwhile, turned to see Yuichi walking up the path. "About time! Where were you?" she shouted indignantly, standing up and showing her displeasure at being shown up. "And where's Shiho-chan?" she added at a more normal volume level when she saw no one behind him. "You did invite her, right?"

"She said she needed to study in the library," he replied, reaching into his bag and taking out a can of juice before Mikoto could sack him.

"I see," was all Mai said about that. Mai knew the real reason, though, when she saw Yuichi's downtrodden face. It was disheartening. Another reach had failed to grasp. Mai honestly couldn't blame Shiho for wanting to avoid being around her. Shiho apparently still hadn't gotten over her crushed dreams of having Yuichi be with her forever.

_Crushed…_

_The scraping of metal on wood. Her legs pinned by a fallen dresser._

_Blood everywhere._

"_Unforgivable…"_

"_Shiho…"_

_A crumbled male body piled next to her._

"_Onii-chan…"_

"_No, please…It was an accident…"_

_The pipe being raised._

"_You…"_

_Those dilated pupils. Those eyes of rage._

_That look of rage._

"_Please…"_

"_Die…"_

_The falling of that pipe._

"_No!"_

"Yoo-hoo, Mai?"

"Huh? What?" Mai snapped back to reality thanks to Chie's waving hand.

"You all right? You looked kinda spooked there for a moment."

"Oh, no, I'm, uh, I'm OK."

Chie wasn't buying it. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Chie. Really."

"If you say so." Mai released a quiet sigh of relief when Chie dropped it and turned her attention to Mikoto's latest antics with her boyfriend. It happened again. These nightmares. They'd always be dark, maybe with some erratic lighting. Most of the time it was raining. There'd always be blood spilled. Or worse. Most of the time she was the victim of someone else. Sometimes it was Shiho or Shizuru. Other times it was Takumi: these would often be some ominous version of that day so many years ago at the riverside. Thursday night it was Mikoto; that one scared her out of bed and into the bathroom for a good five minutes. It didn't even have anything to do with that final climatic battle they had a few months ago. Every time they'd be enraged, or swearing revenge, or just sometimes being downright insane. She never told anyone else about it, chiefly because of the ludicrousness of her friends murdering anyone out of hate or rage.

Well, right now, at any rate.

This was the first time, though, that those images had interrupted her thoughts in the daytime. Well, to be precise it was the first time a _new_ iteration had interrupted her thoughts in the daytime. Previously they were just old ones in her sleep that would bother her occasionally when she was in class or something. She did have that horror movie marathon last weekend at Natsuki's place, but she couldn't recall any of those movies having the kinds of scenes that she was seeing. Or any of her nightmares containing a reanimated homicidal doll with any recognizable faces on it, for example. She had been dealing with them with a that's-just -silly dismissal, and usually they'd go away, but now…

"Hey, Mai? You there?"

"Huh? Wha?" Mai jumped a bit at Akira's call. "Oh, sorry, I didn't catch what you said."

"I didn't say anything; I was just wondering why you were looking off into space like that."

"You should know by now that _onee-chan_ does that sometimes, Akira-kun," Takumi said. "It's spontaneous, like your cooking and combustion." Knowing exactly how she would respond, he jumped and began to run away.

"HEY!" Akira responded. "What did I say about the food?!" She quickly got up and gave chase around the field. Everyone else laughed, even Mai. The scary images, she decided, mean nothing. What she had now was what mattered.

* * *

"Yoo-hoo! Nao-chan!"

"Ah, geez." The _one time_ Nao decided to visit _Lindenbaum_, and guess who's taking her order. Maybe she should turn around and walk out now. "Don't you have, like, some Indiana Jones shit to do?"

"It fell through: another militia attack. The site's now officially off-limits."

"You don't sound disappointed."

"Eh, it's not like I'm eager to jump into the middle of an active war zone."

"I'd think you'd want to jump at the chance for action."

"I'm passionate, not suicidal. You want anything?" Nao took her time looking at the menu. "I'd suggest the pie; it's really good today."

"If I wanted your opinion, I'd have given it into you." Nao scanned the choices once more. "I'll take a piece of cherry pie, I guess."

"Coming up." Midori left to get a slice, leaving Nao to sit and people-watch. Couples here and there, talking about nothing and generally being so sweet to each other she thought by the end she would need insulin. The atmosphere was cheery and bright, too bright for her taste. She put up with that often enough on her own dates, and those paid way more. How do Mai and Midori deal with it? They must get sick of it at some point.

Nao then saw Akane come out the kitchen in regular clothes. Well, her, she understood. By the looks of her nice clothes and the way her freely flowing hair was shining even in the rather ordinarily lighting of the diner, Nao guessed that today was special for some reason. She soon came upon the most likely reason that today would be special. She glanced away as Akane walked by towards the front door, pretending not to have noticed. Had it been Mai or Midori or anyone else, she wouldn't have gone through the effort. But with what had been happening the past few days, and then seeing her...

"Oh, hi, Nao-chan. I didn't know you were here."

So much for that. "Hey." A moment passed. "So, uh…you're getting off work?"

"Yeah, I'm actually waiting for Kazu-kun to get here so that we can go out."

"Ah." The bell at the front door rang, showing said date walking in and waving to Akane. "You two have fun then."

"OK. Bye." Akane then walked out to meet Kazuya and the two soon left the diner. Nao let out a gag after Akane and her boyfriend walked out the door.

"Well, that was about the most awkwardly civil conversation I've seen today," Midori chimed in behind Nao, setting her plate down on the counter. "And with all these dates going on here, that's saying something."

"Shut up, Midori."

"At least you were being civil. That's a good thing." Midori thought maybe that second statement wasn't so applicable once she saw Nao's fleeting face of worry. "Something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Nao grabbed a fork. "Can I have some water?"

"It's never nothing with you. You were trying not to look at Akane-chan, weren't you?"

"Back off." She took a chunk of the pie and hurriedly began to eat it. Coming to _Lindenbaum _was quickly turning out to be a bad idea to Nao.

"Come on. Keeping it in isn't healthy and you know it," Midori said as she placed a glass of ice water next to Nao, who slowed her chewing rate but otherwise did nothing in response. Midori looked up at the clock. "I'll be done in ten minutes," she said in a low voice. "I'll be outside the back door." With that, she walked away to take care of another customer's order once she noticed Nao pause her eating of dessert.

She sighed. Maybe she should take up her offer. After all, who better to talk to about crazy dreams than a crazy person? It can't be worse than constantly seeing Akane's disfigured face again.

Thanks to her own hands.

* * *

"_Bitch! Fine, you first!" Shiho swung the bat at my face. I think. My vision's so blurry and it's dark in the stairs._

_But whatever. I hardly thought about the fact that I had just palmed the bat in my hand. There's no mistaking that voice._

_I grabbed her shirt, separated it from the bat, and tossed her down the stairs like a piece of garbage. Which she was._

_I could barely hear anything now as I walk down the stairs. I know I must be saying something, though. I can feel my chest pound out word after word. I can see her lips move. But I heard nothing. I only felt. Pain. Anger. Hate._

_I raised the bat with my hand and held it over my head, ready to bring the hammer down._

"_TokihaaaAAAAHHH!!!!"_

_The bat came down on her pathetic face. Blood sprayed on the wall behind her, on the bat, on my clothes, on face, everywhere…_

Mai snapped out of her sleep and sat upright in her bed very quickly. Her heartbeat was rapid, her breathing was erratic, and her face was soaked in sweat. She removed the covers off her bed and placed her feet in the slippers next to it.

She grasped her head in her hands, trying desperately to regain control. "No…" She began to sob quietly through her efforts not to hyperventilate, her tears escaping and rolling down her cheeks one by one. "What have I done…" She looked at her pajamas, clean as can be, but she could still see the blood splattered all over them. She continued to sob.

After a few minutes she was at the sink in her bathroom, splashing her face with water. She had calmed down a bit, her mind grasping that it was another nightmare. But they continued to haunt her, the images. Not only did they feel as real as ever this time, but now…

Mai walked out of the bathroom and looked across the room at the clock above her bed. 1:52 in the morning. This couldn't continue. She couldn't help but feel there was something going on, but what? With everyone probably asleep (or otherwise not wanting to be disturbed at such an ungodly hour), she proceeded to walk out the door to her room and into the hallway, hoping some fresh air would help clear her mind. She wasn't going to be able to sleep for a while. Mai took one last look at the sleeping Mikoto in her bed before closing the door.

The hallways of the dorm were lit per academy regulations, but somehow they seemed dim, almost inadequate. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday night, even if it was almost two in the morning. And chilly, Mai added to her thoughts as she subconsciously folded her arms for warmth. There's no air conditioner in the hallways, but Mai shivered every so often as she wandered through them aimlessly, going wherever her legs decided to take her. Maybe she should have brought a blanket. In her stupor Mai continued on until she entered the stairwell, where the first sight of the stairs stopped her in her tracks. The image of her smashing Shiho's head in played again in her head, and she quickly backpedalled out of the stairs and shut the door hastily. Her breathing was ragged once more.

"Did I…actually…" Mai could feel another tear welling up in her eye, threatening to escape. She was becoming desperate. Was there a meaning to all this? Why was she being bothered by such dreams? Did she truly hate Shiho? Did Shiho really hate her? The images from the past week began to flash in her mind again, assaulting her sanity once more. "Stop…" she pleaded to no one. "Enough…" She slowly sank to the floor, biting her fist trying to stop crying and get a hold on herself.

"Mai?" Mai turned and saw Shiho standing outside the doorway to her room. Somehow in her wandering she had walked to Shiho's area of the dormitory. Her pajamas suggested that she too had been sleeping. "Are…are you…all right?" she asked hesitantly. Shiho was clearly reluctant to reach to Mai after months of effectively silence, but somehow she couldn't stand to see Mai on the ground for some reason. Even the thought that maybe her _onii-chan_ had dumped her and might return didn't make her happy.

Maybe it was that weird dream she had last night.

"Shiho…" Mai let out before having to stop to calm her own breathing down again. "Can I…can we talk?"

Shiho was silent for a moment. "If you want."

* * *

_Please read and review. I hope I wasn't too cheesy on the emotional descriptions._


	3. Secrets

_So, uh, what's up, guys? It's been a long time. I'm sorry about taking so long to update: academics and finding a non-part-time real job have been eating away at me. (Well, that and not wanting to do that.) I'm still in school, about to be eaten alive by statistics. But things have calmed down a bit now, enough for me to make chapter 2._

_Please enjoy. My-HiME is property of Sunrise.  
_

_1/26/10  
_

* * *

Midori finished off the last of the juice before tossing the empty bottle into the recycling bin as the two of them walked by it. "Damn, what I wouldn't give for a beer."

"Must be a pretty short list, I'd imagine," Nao replied, replacing the cap to her own half-empty bottle. The two of them had decided to take a walk in the park after Midori's shift was over. It wasn't exactly high on Nao's list of favorite places to talk, but it was the only place they could think of that A, was not closed that late; B, allowed a good measure of privacy; C, wasn't crowded; and D, allowed a minor like Nao to enter.

Midori cleared her throat. "So, then, Nao-chan. Tell me about why Akane-chan is making you uncomfortable."

Nao took a moment, clearing her throat and obviously trying to summon the gumption to do something so un-Nao-like. "Lately, I've been having these dreams."

"Are these dreams-"

"No, Dr. Freud. Get your yuri fix somewhere else."

"Aw…"

"You want to listen or go fangirl?"

"I'll shut up."

"All right then." Nao let out a short sigh and took a sip from her bottle. "They're not steamy, but they probably would get an R rating."

"If not for sex, then for…"

"Hey, who's telling the story here? Yeah, rated R for strong language and graphic violence." Nao looked at the gears turning inside Midori's head. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say you can guess what my dreams are about."

"Yeah, not a lot of other choices for your trips to La-La Land." Midori thought for another moment. "So, that means…not only are you and Akane trying to off each other in very bloody ways, but this idea disturbs you?"

"Look, Midori. This ain't easy for me to admit."

"Oh, God forbid you ever be seen as weak. Hardly, Nao-chan. To be able to forgo the macho route – that's not weakness. That's the opposite."

Nao made a raspberry. "Pbbt. You've been ingesting whatever medicine Mai takes for her blind optimism or something?"

"Yes, I have been drinking her Kool-Aid. I mean, wouldn't you drink something if you ate as much as everyone does when she cooks?"

Nao was in the midst of replying with another snarky remark when she realized Midori just stole it from her. Damn that woman and her hidden comeback abilities. Why was it always the crazy ones that were the hardest to deal with?

Midori resumed the conversation. "How long has this been going on?"

"A couple weeks, give or take a day."

"Hmm."

For a fleeting second, Nao noticed a look of what she could best describe as hesitation. "What? Did something happen a couple weeks ago?"

"No…"

Nao stopped walking. "I don't like how that 'No' just trailed off like that, Midori. What's going on?" She then turned and saw that Midori's "No" wasn't actually answering a question. "Where're you going?" She asked as she followed Midori to some nearby bushes.

Midori said nothing as she pushed aside a bunch of branches and then froze. There was a momentary pause before she said something: "Holy shit."

Nao hurried over to Midori's side to see what was going on...and then froze in her tracks as well. Behind the bushes laid a body, his eyes frozen open in shock. Nao's eyes scanned down just a little bit to see his throat slit wide open. Dried streaks of blood fanned out in all directions from his throat, raying away on top of the grass as well as his clothes. The body was in a slightly dorky button down shirt and dress slacks. It was a scene straight out of a slasher flick. Midori approached cautiously and shook the body to no avail: Kazuya Kurauchi was very much dead.

For once, Nao had no one-liner to quip for the situation.

* * *

"And that's when you came out into the hallway," Mai finished with a short sigh, leaning back in the chair which had been turned around from the desk to face Shiho's bed. She glanced at the clock that sat on the bookshelf, illuminated by Shiho's desktop lamp, the only source of light in the room. 2:18 AM. "The rest, well, you know."

"Right." Shiho sat cross-legged on her bed, showing nothing but attention to Mai's story. Your rival for your target of affection telling you about the bloody resolution to your conflict wasn't exactly a common occurrence, even less so when she was visibly distraught by it. Her elbows rested on her lap, while her head rested on a clenched hand. She pushed away some of her untied hair away from her face with her free hand.

"I don't know…if they're visions of the future, or a warning, or just a really scary series of meaningless nightmares, Shiho, but…" Mai paused, trying to work out what she wanted to say. She took a sharp breath and grasped her hands around Shiho's, which scared her head off of them. "Please believe me, Shiho. I have to tell you this. I want the three of us to be able to get along. I don't want to hurt you."

"A little late there," she replied, quietly removing her hands from Mai's grasp and looking away.

"Shiho-chan…"

"Mai, look. I appreciate you telling me about all this. Really. But do you have any idea what it's like being told _onii-chan_ doesn't like me?"

"What do you mean, he doesn't like you? Yuuichi still likes you."

"It's not the same, Mai!" Mai froze at Shiho's outburst. "It's not the same…" she repeated, her voice trailing off. Even with the relatively bad angle the desk lamp was shining the room at, Mai could see Shiho's face become flush and a slight glistening in her eye. Soon, a tear escaped and began to roll slowly down her cheek. "I'd always believed that he'd be there for me…for the rest of my life…" Another tear slipped out onto Shiho's face; she closed them and bent over, her crying becoming a little more audible.

"Shiho-chan…" Mai got up and approached Shiho. She lowered her body so that she could encapsulate Shiho in a hug. It was the only thing she could think of doing to comfort her.

It also backfired. "Go away!" Shiho shouted suddenly as she pushed her away when she got close. Mai was sent tumbling backwards to the floor, her back striking the desk. It hurt a little, but Mai was far more concerned with the disappointment she felt in her heart. She was too shocked to say anything to the now-all-but-inconsolable Shiho that still sat on the bed. For a few moments, neither one moved. "Please go away…" Shiho said finally when her crying died down enough for her to choke out the words. She turned around in her to face the window, grabbing a pillow on her bed in the process.

Mai hesitated for a second before finally getting up. She looked down on Shiho's back. Part of her wanted to slap some sense into the brat. She was only trying to help. She didn't need to be so violent! If she wanted to be so miserable so badly, well she can be that way! But there was no excuse for being such a bitch!

Mai's train of thought stopped all of a sudden when she realized she was leaning halfway across the bed towards Shiho. Then she turned to her right and noticed her arm was raised and in position to strike Shiho in the back of the head. Realizing what she was about to do, Mai backed off, virtually throwing herself against the wall behind her in the process. Shiho didn't appear to notice, continuing to have her face buried in her pillow. Without another word, Mai hurriedly left the room, closing the door behind her.

For a good while muffled sobbing was the only thing that came out of the pillow, since it soaked up the tears as well.

"_Onii-chan…_"

* * *

"NO ONE, Nao."

Nao was incredulous. "OK, you've officially gone off the deep end, Midori. What the hell do you mean, tell no one?"

"Exactly what I just said. No one else is to know about this."

A beat passed. "You didn't do this, did you?"

"No."

"So why keep this a secret? What's so important that we can't tell someone like, I don't know, the cops?!" Nao paused. "'I just suggested that we call the cops. THAT'S how stupid I think this is."

Midori turned towards Nao. Her face was unnervingly serious, enough to bury the indignation Nao had and replace it with shock. "Nao, listen to me. You have no idea what's going on here. This thing runs deep, dark – even darker than the Carnival. One wrong move, and we're gonna end up worse than him." She pointed to the body for emphasis.

"And you know this because…"

"Because I…I just know."

"You just know." Nao folded her arms in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, _that's_ going to win me over."

Midori sighed. "Wait…" She looked at her watch. "Actually, I think I can."

"Can what?"

"Win you over." Before Nao could react, Midori grabbed one of her hands and pulled her towards the park entrance.

"Hey, wait, what are you doing?!" Nao protested, trying to free herself from Midori's grasp. "I'm gonna scream for an adult if you don't let go!"

Midori made a raspberry. "Pbbt. Both of us know you'd rather sing 'I Will Always Love You' at the top of your lungs than do that. Besides…" Midori stopped dragging Nao along the path but didn't let go of her hand. "People's lives are at stake here." _Including our own_, she mentally added.

Nao stared intently into Midori's eyes, trying to find any hint that this was a joke. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"I don't joke around when it comes to all our lives, Nao."

"All?"

"Kazu-kun is only the first one. If I'm right…there should already be a second."

"Who?"

"Not sure who…but I know where."

* * *

Mai slowly got up from her bed and tossed the covers off to the side. She had somehow managed to scrape up a couple hours of sleep through the night, just enough for her to make relatively coherent thoughts at that moment. Still, she could have used more. She couldn't see her clock, but Mikoto wasn't bouncing around howling for breakfast, so it must have still been early. There was light coming from outside, but it was a grayish light, filtered through clouds and not doing anything to brighten her mood. At least it being bright outside meant that she must have a decent amount of…oh, wait, scratch that. Mai recalled that it was June: the days were longest at this time of year. She let out an exhausted sigh as she pulled her legs over the side of the bed into her slippers. Or, at least she would have if her slippers hadn't been facing the wrong way.

The fuzzy cloth of the backwards-facing slippers rubbing against the soles of her feet reminded Mai of what had transpired the previous night. She had thought that maybe talking to her would have helped, but it seemed to have made things worse. Maybe she had been a little naïve in thinking that the whole thing could have been solved in a single heart-to-heart. After all, Shiho had known Yuuichi for much longer than she had. Plus, she was still young. Mai was seventeen and only just starting to get into the whole romance thing with Yuuichi. Shiho was more than three years her junior and had idealized her _onii-chan_ fantasy for a few years now; how devastated Shiho must be emotionally! She guessed from Shiho's reaction last night that she wasn't ready to move on.

Then Mai thought about how she had come so close to retaliating. The arm in the air, the way it had felt…it somehow felt like the natural thing to do. Mai had felt something inside her begin to bubble up when Shiho had pushed her to the ground, a familiar feeling of raw emotion. Anger. That frightened her. Just put simply, it had frightened her. She didn't feel it too often, but when she did, the circumstances…well, they tended to be dramatic. (And tragic.) She didn't want to go through all that again. Mai had adjusted back to normalcy (well, as normal as one can get being an ex-magical girl). Many of her friends had commented on how much like a mother she was, especially for those who found normal day to day living a foreign concept. She supposed it just came naturally to her, what with taking care of Takumi as the two of them grew up.

Sometimes, though, she wished her mother was still alive. Right now was one of them. Just having someone she could confide in about these kinds of things and ask advice for…it would have been nice.

"Mai...?"

Mai turned around to see Mikoto awake, propping herself up in her bed with her arms.

"Why are you crying?"

Instinctively, Mai brought her hand up to her face and felt the tear that Mikoto was talking about.

"It's…it's nothing, Mikoto. I'm just a little tired still, that's all." Mai forced out a yawn to back up her story.

"Oh. OK…" Mikoto didn't seem like she bought it, but appeared willing to let the matter drop. "I'm hungry."

"Oh, right, right. Uh…would you like anything special for breakfast?"

The morning mercifully unraveled itself in a more normal manner for Mai. Get up, cook breakfast, tell Mikoto to brush her teeth and change her clothes, sit down and eat, and so on. It was merciful for Mai because it gave a nice distraction from last night, as well as the nightmares that had spurred it. Today was Sunday, so they had a little extra time compared to the usual weekday morning before they went out to see the Sister at the chapel. Mai wasn't particularly religious, but she felt that keeping in touch with former HiME was the right thing to do.

It was probably half the reason she…no, don't think about that now, she scolded.

After breakfast, the two of them walked down to the chapel, where they met Sister Yukariko. And a couple others: "Yukino-chan? Aoi-chan?" Mai said in mild surprise as she saw who else was there. "What are you two doing here?"

"Oh, come on, Mai," Aoi replied. "Is it really necessary to ask questions like that? It almost sounds like you're…suspicious of us." She started laughing right away along with the Sister and Yukino, covering up the fact that Mai's heart had skipped a beat at the end of Aoi's sentence. Mai just let out a weak laugh as well, relieved that Aoi was just joking.

At least she hoped she was…Argh, stop it, Mai! Stop it! She placed her hand onto her temple and let out a heavy sigh when the other three turned their backs to her and started to walk inside.

"Are you OK, Mai?" Mikoto's voice asked from behind her. "Do you have the flu?"

"June isn't flu season, Mikoto. I'm just trying to wake myself up, that's all." She looked up at their friends who were rapidly receding into the hallway. "Come on, let's go catch up with them."

The Sunday morning service started out, as always, with the choir singing hymns. Alyssa, in particular, was singing as beautifully as ever. It was a nice way to counter the gloomy mood that the overcast skies had brought that morning. Mai, however, was starting to pick up some of Natsuki habits, focusing more and more on what was _wrong_ with the scene instead of just enjoying what was right. While the others were being mesmerized by the little angel and her voice, Mai was paying attention to Nao the nun, standing off to the side with Miyu observing the singing. It wasn't hard to figure out that she hated her job and would have quit if the Director wasn't being kept informed by the Sister, but somehow Nao seemed especially distracted today. Usually, she would be glancing about the room in an effort to combat her boredom (apparently Alyssa's singing had gotten to her old pretty quick). Today, though, she was staring off straight into space; her eyes not moving save for the occasional blink. She wasn't looking at Alyssa or the choir either, only at some spot in their general direction of the choir. Miyu wasn't paying Nao any attention and the Sister was focusing on the choir, so it seemed like Mai was the only one who noticed Nao go off into La La Land. Mai would have just dismissed it as Nao just trying to distract herself from tedium, if it weren't for the look on her face. Nao was distracted, but it was out of…concern? Worry? (Fear?) Mai couldn't quite place it, but it definitely wasn't the usual look of boredom. Maybe her mother's condition had gotten worse? Well, if that was the case, the Sister would have certainly allowed Nao to go to the hospital, and she wouldn't be here at all. Maybe Nao didn't tell Sister? Hmm, that'd only make sense if they didn't know about her mother's condition already, and besides, if it's something as serious as that, she would have certainly done whatever she could to get out of being in service today – maybe call in sick or something. She must be hiding something. But what could it possibly be that she can't tell Sister? It'd have to be something really embarrassing, especially since this is Nao. Or maybe something really bad…

Mai caught herself and shook her head briskly. This was ridiculous. First the nightmares, then Shiho, now Aoi and Nao? What's gotten into her? Besides, if Nao didn't want to talk to someone about it, even Sister or Miyu, it wasn't her place to butt in. No telling if something like last night could happen again, and she was not in the mood for more drama. Mai returned her gaze back to the front, just in time to join the attendees in a round of applause as the choir took a bow. Enough of this nonsense, Mai told herself. She's busy enough during the week; she's going to have a relaxing weekend, dammit!

* * *

Nao took another glance towards the congregation. She should probably stop doing that; it conveyed the wrong impression. And she probably would if she hadn't caught Mai continually stealing looks at her. What's her problem? Nao turned her head back towards the choir, trying to refocus her attention on the same songs she had heard over and over again for months. Naturally, it failed, and her mind wandered back to last night.

"_Seriously, Midori, what's going on? We just walked away from a slasher victim, and you're claiming you know what's going on but you don't want to tell the cops."_

"_I told you already, Nao, it's too risky."_

"_Risky? Seriously, Midori, enough with the crazy conspiracy theories!" Nao stopped her ranting for a moment to look up at the building they were approaching. "Wait a minute, isn't this Kuga's place?"_

"_Yeah," Midori replied curtly. The two of them walked into the apartment building, Midori keeping her eyes straight ahead._

"_You mean to tell me this is part of her secret agent shtick?"_

_Midori didn't say anything, only walking down the hall and stopping at the door. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but hesitated. She barely had time to react when Nao shoved her out of the way. "Yo, wolf!" she shouted. "You ho–" Nao cut herself off when the door began to creak open from her first pound on the door with her fist. The door wasn't even properly closed: in fact, it had lost its ability to do that due to a damaged latch. Something was definitely off. Nao tentatively pushed the door a little more open. "Anyone home?" she called out. No response. Nao looked back at Midori, who had a distinct look of worry on her face. She turned her attention back into the apartment. Midori went around her and took tentative steps inside. "Hey, Natsuki!" she called. Still no response. Midori flipped a nearby switch on. The lights in the apartment light up, and what Nao saw lying on the floor made her step back in shock._

"_Now do you believe me?"_

Nao blinked a couple of times, shaking herself back to reality. She glanced over towards the choir, the last of whose members were retreating off the podium. Without another word, she walked behind the last member according to her duty in escorting them to the back rooms, taking note of the annoyingly peppy sound that was the ringtone of Mai's cell phone. She heard her squeak out a couple of apologies before the sound of fading footsteps took her away towards the back. It certainly didn't sit well with Nao, being passive about this…sudden development, but if there was some secret agent stuff going on, rushing headlong into the situation probably wasn't the best idea. Besides, it seemed like Midori was on top of things: she had told Nao not to say a word about it to anyone for the time being until she did more research.

Actually, maybe too well. How else would she have guessed that victim number two was in Kuga's apartment?

Nao placed a hand to her temple. Great. Now she was getting suspicious and falling into the tangled web that is the world of espionage.

* * *

Mai flipped open her phone once she reached the atrium of the chapel. "Hello?"

"_Hello, Mai-san?_"

"Oh, hello, _kaichou_. How are you?"

"_Have you been in touch with Natsuki in the past few hours?"_

Mai paused. It was unusual for Shizuru to skip over classic Japanese idle roundabout pleasantries and go right to the point, especially when it came to Natsuki. Shizuru's unusually serious tone of voice only raised her suspicions further. Two plus two equals something is going on with Natsuki, something bad. "I haven't, no. Not since the picnic. Is something wrong?"

"_Are you busy right now, Mai-san?_"

"I'm at the church right now. Where are you?"

"_Natsuki's apartment._"

And she's asking about Natsuki's whereabouts? "Maybe she's just out shopping or something, _kaichou_?"

There was a pause at the other end. "_I fear that that is not the case, Mai-san. I think someone tried to break in here last night._"

"Oh, no!"

"_And there's something else here that I want to talk with you about._" Shizuru didn't skip a beat, like the break-in wasn't the worst of it.

Now Mai became really worried. "I can be there in…" She glanced at her watch. "Ten minutes once I get a taxi."

"_I apologize for calling you away from the service like this. I can reimburse you for the taxi fare, if you wish._"

"Don't worry about it, if it's that important that I come."

"_All right, then._"

"I'll see you in a few minutes." Mai closed her phone just as the doors to the sanctuary opened. "Oh, Yukino-chan."

"Is everything all right, Mai-san?" she asked. "You have been gone for a while."

"Um, yeah, I just, uh, have to leave early. Unexpected business." She opened her cell phone and began dialing a number.

"I see," Yukino replied.

"Please tell Mikoto and Aoi-chan I'm so sorry for leaving so suddenly. From what Shizuru said, it sounded serious."

"Fujino-san?"

"Yeah."

"OK, then."

"Thanks, Yukino-chan." With that, Mai headed towards the exit. "Hello? Yes, I would like to call a cab…" Yukino also turned around and headed back to tell Aoi and Mikoto, while around the corner, Nao put her habit back on and walked back to the back rooms.

* * *

"All right, then." Shizuru heard Mai hang up before closing her own cell phone. She placed it in her pocket and stared down towards the floor.

Akane's eyes stared right back.

* * *

_Reviews are, again, appreciated._


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